Close distances
by Kegel
Summary: Changes in the lab leave Greg and Sara's relationship in the open. SaraGreg
1. Beginnings

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**Summary:** Changes in the lab leave Greg and Sara's relationship in the open. SaraGreg

**Rating: **T

**A/N: **So, I better refrain from rambling here and say only a quick thanks to _singingstarryknights _for betareading.

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Close distances**

**Chapter 1: Beginnings**

Taking out his sunglasses and putting them on his nose accentuated, Greg looked into the low-standing sun over Las Vegas. Grinning broadly, he turned to Sara, who was biting on her lower lip to avoid laughing.

"Succeeded again," Greg cheered, and continued walking along the street.

"In what?" Sara asked smiling, also on the fact that Greg was especially up-beat today.

"Getting that smile on your face," he responded, thinking that Sara actually seemed often very willing to let him make her smile. She even laughed when he made admittedly rather lame jokes.

Her smile had now broken into a small grin. "Wow, you're really mushy today."

Greg laughed and took her hand in his. "All for you."

"And you're acting like a teenager with a crush."

Greg had to admit that this was a least a little true. They were just on their third date and Greg had spent most of the time grinning broadly at her.

"Well," he let go of her hand and laid his arm around her waist instead. "I think there's something I have to tell you." He leaned a little closer to her and whispered in her ear. "The looks deceive: I'm thirty-one."

Sara looked at him, gauging him. "Well," she said doubtingly.

"Well, what? You don't believe me?" Greg joked.

"It's difficult sometimes."

Greg took her left hand in his hand that he had had on her waist so far, and leaned to her again, kissing her hair.

"Greg, stop," Sara protested, "People could think-,"

"Think what?" Greg asked lightly, "That I have such a crush on you?" He tried to prevent the disappointment washing over him. Sara was only not willing to show too much tenderness in public, he was sure of that. Sara blushed slightly, and looked downwards at her feet, while they were still walking down the street.

"I'm still for the tee-shirts, you know," Greg tried to lighten the moment again. "Mine could have a saying like 'I love Sara'."

Sara punched him lightly in the side. "Don't you dare."

"Just kidding."

"You never know when it comes to you," Sara shook her head, chuckling.

They continued walking almost in silence, only interrupted by Greg's occasional comments on things or people they saw along the street. After a while Sara looked at her watch. "It's time, Greg. It was a great day, but I want to head over to my place before work, so we have to go now."

Greg nodded, looking around. "Where did we park our cars? This direction?" he pointed to Sara's left side. They had walked around rather randomly for hours, so he was not so sure about the direction.

"Yeah, I think so."

Some minutes later they arrived at their cars, without having gotten lost on the way, and Greg turned to Sara once more. "So, are there any chances for working together tonight?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll go with Nick over what we got from that scene at Lake Mead last night. So I think it will be you and Grissom, Warrick or Catherine tonight."

"Great," Greg said, though his tone did not exactly match up to his words. "But we'll meet for breakfast, won't we?"

Sara took his hand in hers again, and squeezing it lightly, she agreed, "Sure." She let go of him and opened the door of her car. "See you," she said and climbed into her car, while Greg made the few steps over to his own, watching her driving away.

* * *

Some hours later Greg let himself fall in the chair next to Sara in the break room. They had still some minutes to go until the beginning of their shift, although that did not necessarily mean anything, and Greg whispered something in Sara's ear, causing her at first to purse her lips, before chuckling quietly, until Grissom cleared his throat. 

"Can we start now?" he asked rather monotonously. He knew what was going on between Greg and Sara. It had been obvious enough, even for Grissom's underdeveloped social radar.

As they had not really changed their behavior at work, had kept everything professional, Grissom had chosen not to comment on their relationship.

"So, Nick, Sara, how is the case from Lake Mead going?" he started, banning any non-work-related thoughts out of his head.

Nick answered, "We spent a double yesterday going over the scene and will start as soon as we're out here to look into everything we found."

Sara nodded only briefly in confirmation.

"You're free to go and start working," Grissom declared, and Nick did not hesitate. He got up, and walked out of the room, only stopping briefly in the door to wait for Sara, who said a short goodbye to Greg, and followed Nick.

"Greg, I have some questions about the report you finished up yesterday…," Sara heard Grissom continuing while she walked down the hallway together with Nick.

"Grissom seems to be in a good mood today, doesn't he?" the Texan commented.

Sara, however, was straining to listen to Grissom, and not listening to what Nick was saying, only mumbled in vague agreement.

* * *

Half an hour later she and Nick had spread hundreds of items in the largest layout room, and that space was also necessary considering the unusual amount of things they had gathered the previous day. It was no surprise that they had needed a double to go over the scene, Sara thought, while looking closer at a strip of cloth that had a stain on it that could possibly be blood. Sara made a mental note to send it to the DNA lab later on. 

At this moment Warrick came into the room, waving a file. "I think I have a case here that could be related to yours." He handed the file to Nick, who browsed it quickly, while Sara looked over his shoulder, reading.

"I don't have time for that now, as I'll head out to another scene together with Greg in a few minutes," Warrick continued.

"We'll look into it," Sara assured him, just when Greg stuck his head into the room, smiling briefly at her, before he turned to Warrick.

"I'll change quickly into some other clothes," he stated, and grimaced, looking at Sara again. "DB, water, lots of fun."

"Well, then take a shower later. I'll refuse to go to breakfast with you, when you smell like death."

Greg chuckled. "Meet you in ten in the locker room," he said to Warrick and left.

"You heard it: I have to go, before your boyfriend sits in the driver's seat of the SUV, ready to go. I value my life," Warrick said, directed at Sara.

"He's not my-, okay, he is my boyfriend. But don't say it in that tone," she started to protest immediately.

"What tone?" Warrick asked, before leaving the room quickly.

Sara heard Nick chuckling next to her. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Nick assured her, turning back to his task.

Only two minutes later, Warrick returned with an evidence box in his hands. "I got you the stuff from my case as Greg's still changing." He put the box on the table next to Sara.

"Thanks," she muttered briefly.

Warrick grimaced at Nick, but Sara got notice of it, and glared shortly at the both of them, before opening the box Warrick had brought and taking evidence bags out of it. Warrick left again and Sara and Nick continued working in silence, only interrupted by brief comments on their findings.

The silence was then suddenly broken though by an earsplitting sound ringing through the lab. Sara knew immediately what it was. She remembered too well how the fire alarm had started after the explosion in the DNA lab some years ago.

She glanced at Nick. "We have to lock away the evidence quickly and then get out of here."

Nick nodded and started to pile evidence bags into a box, Sara doing the same with the box Warrick had brought only some minutes ago. She was almost finished with packing up the box when Nick held up another evidence bag. "Don't forget that," he said smiling, though looking a little nervous.

Sara sealed, marked and signed the bag quickly, watching out of the corner of her eyes how people hurried along the hallway to get out of the building. When she was finished she placed the box into the closet where Nick had already put several other boxes. He locked it, and said, "Let's go."

They had not needed more than two minutes to pack everything up, but now it was really time to go, Sara thought nervously, and hurried together with Nick out of the room, wondering briefly if Greg and Warrick had already left before all hell broke loose in the lab.

**TBC**


	2. Apprehension

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **Thank you all for your reviews. This chapter is fresh back from _singingstarryknights_ who betaread again.

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**Chapter 2: Apprehension**

The first thing Sara noticed, when she hurried out of the building onto the street, was that Warrick was out there as well, pacing a few strides up and down the street. It meant that Greg was also still there, as the two men had intended to leave together for a scene. Sara jogged over to Warrick, closely followed by Nick.

"Where's Greg?" she asked directly, looking around at the people that gathered outside of the lab.

"I don't know," Warrick replied. "I was on my way to the locker room, when that started."

Sara turned worriedly to the building that hosted the crime lab. "Why isn't he out?" She made some steps towards the building, her mind racing. "You don't think he has his headphones on and doesn't hear the alarm?" she asked, realizing herself how unlikely that sounded.

Nick put his hand on her shoulder, holding her back from approaching the lab any further. "Even if he has, that sound drowns everything. You have to think of all the situations when we wear ear protection while working – the fire alarm is loud enough," he assured her.

Sara nodded, calmed down a little. "Yeah, you're right." With once again growing worry, she frowned, "But why isn't he out then?" She looked around to see, if he was standing around somewhere, but she did not spot him. She did not spot any flames or smoke coming from the building in front of them so far either, and so she tried to breathe calmly, assuring herself that Greg would come out any moment. He could be already out and she just did not see him.

Nevertheless, she paced back and forth nervously, hardly noticing it, before she finally spotted Greg, who walked calmly out of the lab. He met her gaze and started into a short sprint over to them.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Sara breathed relieved, hugging him shortly. Greg looked as if he was wondering why Sara thought this sign of affection necessary for the situation, especially for her, although he was not opposed to it at all.

"Ecklie," he answered briefly.

"Ecklie?" Nick exclaimed. "Don't tell me he hold you a speech, while the lab's burning down."

Greg shook his head. "It's not burning. It's only a practice alarm."

"A practice?" Sara asked unbelieving.

Greg shrugged. "Yeah. He had just called me in his office about some report when the alarm started. He knew about the practice and didn't bother to go out."

Greg had just finished his sentence when the alarm suddenly stopped. Sara found herself notably relaxing now that the noise had vanished.

Warrick and Greg left for their scene finally and Sara wondered if she had only imagined Greg's frown when he had told them about his talk with Ecklie.

* * *

In the morning Greg was just tying up his shoelaces, sitting on the bench in the locker room, when Sara entered and stopped at the entrance of the room.

"I got some bagels, while you were taking your shower. So let's head over to my place, okay?" Sara breathed in slowly and started to contemplate whether she'd force Greg to take a hot bath before or after breakfast. The shower had not helped much.

"Sure." Greg finished tying up the laces of his second shoe, and Sara walked over to him, resisting the urge to let her hand run through his still wet hair, instead turning her back to him and opening her locker and cramming around in it.

"Slow night?" Greg asked now, standing up from the bench.

Sara shut her locker and turned around to him again, grimacing. "Yeah, the most exciting thing was the fire-drill. And yours?"

Greg took her hand and pulled her slowly out of the room. "I'm sure you smell it," he said simply.

"Oh yeah, I do."

* * *

After they had entered Sara's apartment, she disappeared silently into the kitchen, leaving Greg standing bewilderedly behind. Some moments later she came back though, carrying several items. She handed Greg a net of lemons and a big towel wordlessly.

Greg looked at her sheepishly. He knew what she wanted him to do, but could not resist peeving her a little.

"The bathroom is over there," she said finally, pointing at the door behind Greg. "What are you waiting for?"

He grinned at her meaningful. She glared at him even more significantly and he made a hasty retreat into the bathroom. Sara packed out her veggies-and-cheese bagel, picked up the latest issue of the forensics journal and sat down on her couch, already chewing, when she heard the water starting to run in the bathroom.

She had just enough time to scan the table of content in her journal, before she heard Greg calling urgently. Dropping the journal on the couch and cramming the last piece of the bagel in her mouth, she got up quickly, striding over to the door of her bathroom. She stopped outside of it.

"Greg?" she called through the door.

The only sound she heard was the water running in the shower. Hoping that Greg had not locked the bathroom door, she pressed down the handle, and the door opened. She walked slowly into the room, peeking around the door that blocked her sight on the shower. She was halfway around it, when a spurt of warm water hit her. She shrieked loudly, but after she had recovered from the first surprise, she exclaimed, "You are so dead."

Greg finally turned off the water and climbed out of the shower nonchalantly. He picked up the towel Sara had given him earlier.

"Need this?" he asked innocently.

Sara turned around heatedly and walked out of the bathroom, shaking her head, but not as a reply to his question. "I can't believe I fell for that," she said, though talking more to herself. Half a minute later Greg followed her, wearing an old jogging suit he had brought from the lab. He walked over to her and laid the towel around her back.

"And I can't believe you finally fell for me," he remarked smiling. He rubbed her back, while she tried to put her hair in order with her hands.

"You don't deserve this right now," she declared. "I'm even wetter than you."

Smoothing her hair, he suggested quietly, "Well, let's get rid of your wet clothes then."

"Be glad that I'm in a good mood today."

"I'll enjoy it while it lasts."

* * *

Feeling more relaxed than she had in quite a while, surprisingly enough considering that she had spent the whole day with Greg, who could be quite straining sometimes and considering that she would usually prefer to have some hours on her own, Sara made her way into the lab the next night in an uncharacteristically good mood. It was quickly replaced though, by slight tension and growing apprehension, when she heard Ecklie and Grissom talking loudly in the office of the latter. Or rather only Ecklie talking.

"…you have to think about it, staff cuts are necessary," she heard him stating clearly.

Grissom did not answer. Sara approached his office slowly, straining to understand what was said, although Ecklie could be heard down the whole hallway, which was obviously realized by the persons in the room as well because when Sara was just few feet away from the office, the door was shut, deadening the voices behind. Sara slowed down, concentrating even more to understand the two men.

"There are six CSIs on the graveyard shift. Six!" Ecklie exclaimed. "Days goes with four, Swing shift has even only three."

Sara's apprehension was growing. Grissom answered something quietly that she could not understand.

"Special circumstances? That is not relevant here. Relevant is that the county has to economize, like everybody has."

Sara looked around to see if somebody was nearby but saw only a lab tech working in a room far down the hallway.

"I won't fire anyone of my people," Grissom declared now.

"Then I will do so. I've laid down your alternatives." Ecklie paused. "As little as I want to see anybody go…"

Sara grimaced on this statement, still standing outside in the hallway.

"This is no criticism of anybody's work, but someone has to go. Graveyard will still have the most CSIs in the lab. Actually even more than one could go, but I will insist on only one."

Again Grissom replied something Sara was not able to understand.

"Backlogged? Days and swing handle with less people," Ecklie stated. "I can repeat it again: Catherine will stay of course, Brown will, too. Stokes is not an option; here apply your so-called special circumstances. Common policy in cases like this is: last to come, first to go. To clarify: Sanders or Sidle. You have the choice," he finished in a tone that made clear that this was his last word.

**TBC**


	3. Contemplations

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **Thanks for all the replies again and thanks to _singingstarryknights _for betareading. This is currently going faster than I thought it would.

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**Chapter 3: Contemplations**

There was silence. Sara stood unmoving in front of the closed door of Grissom's office, her heart pounding quickly. She did not hear any sounds coming out of the office anymore, until the handle of the door was pressed down and the door opened slightly.

"Think about it," Ecklie repeated his earlier order, his hand on the door handle. Sara took this moment to bolt quickly, disappearing into the next empty room, right before Ecklie stepped out of Grissom's office into the hallway.

Sara closed the door behind her quietly. She rubbed her forehead, the first thoughts coming to her mind consisting only of obscenities. She leaned against the door frame, biting her lip, thinking. Ecklie wanted somebody to be fired. And it would be her or Greg.

Shit.

And he had left the decision to Grissom. She knew that there was no point in pondering over Grissom's probable decision, as she would only go around in circles, mentally.

While it had been Grissom who had hired her years ago, it had also been him who had given Greg the opportunity to move out of the DNA lab and become a CSI. So the fact that he had hired her, hand-picked her, how she had liked to tell herself when she was so intrigued with him, would not preclude that he would choose her to be dismissed. And however the decision would be, it would hit them both, her and Greg.

While she dreaded to lose her job, she did not want Greg to lose his either. She would not be able to stand that either.

She sighed. She had to make herself clear that it would not be her fault, if Greg actually lost his job. He would not lose it because of her. Grissom had the choice between the two of them, but it was not her who had put up that choice.

She starred down at the floor, completely lost in her thoughts.

Maybe, after all, it would be her who would have to go. But somehow she still clung on the hope that Grissom would find another way than to dismiss her or Greg. She had been sure that she would get fired after her encounter with Catherine and Ecklie in the previous year, but still Grissom had somehow managed to avoid that. And while she nowadays hated to be dependant on his ability to find a way out for all of them, she hoped he would do so.

These thoughts sunk in, and Sara realized that things had suddenly become much more complicated, and however they would turn out; it would very likely be not good at all.

She wondered if she should tell Greg about what she had heard. She dreaded a conversation like that. But she also dreaded Grissom's decision and what would happen between her and Greg when they got to know it. Greg would then very likely hear from the whole matter for the first time.

She frowned on this thought, suddenly not so sure anymore if Greg really knew nothing about it. He had appeared a little laid-back when he had come from the talk with Ecklie during the fire-drill. Maybe he knew it. Sara only did not understand why he had not mentioned it then.

The answer was simply: Because he feared that conversation as much as she did.

Or he did not know about it at all.

Sara decided to remain silent for the time being. She thought that neither of them would gain anything from them discussing and contemplating about it, before they knew what Grissom would do. And she was not supposed to know of the whole affair anyway right now. Nobody knew that she knew about it. And for the moment it was better that nobody knew.

She was startled from her thoughts, when the door next to her opened and Greg stuck his head into the room.

"So this is where you're hiding," he said.

"I'm not hiding," Sara replied, turning away from the door.

Greg frowned. "What's up?"

"It's nothing," she said without looking at him. She finally turned to him again, finding him watching her. Greg nodded shortly, and Sara knew that he had noticed that something was wrong, but he knew her well enough to know that she would not tell him if she did not want to and that his only choice was to wait until she did so. Urging her to tell him would be useless.

"I have work to do," she declared and walked out of the room, holding the door open for him to follow.

* * *

Gil Grissom was sitting in his office, seemingly reading the journal on his desk in front of him, but he was not thinking about the newest scientific discoveries for once. His thoughts were on the choice that had been put in front of him. As much as he pondered about it, he did not come up with a solution to avoid that decision he did not want to make.

But Ecklie had made himself clear: if Grissom did not make the decision, he would make it. And Grissom actually considered letting Ecklie decide. It could not turn out worse than with any decision he would render himself.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not notice how Wendy had entered his office. She had actually knocked at the open door, but when Grissom had not answered, she had not hesitated to enter without an invitation.

"Mr. Grissom?" she asked now and Grissom looked finally up.

"Excuse me, I was … reading," he said. "What do you have?"

"I think we have a problem," Wendy answered, and Grissom could only agree silently. He motioned her to go on.

"I ran a DNA comparison and came up with a link to another case."

"This is good, isn't it?" Grissom remarked carefully.

Wendy shook her head. "The blood that was – supposedly - found at that scene is from the victim of the other case. But that man was already dead for several days – according to the coroner's report – when the other victim was killed."

"Well, then the killer brought the blood from the first to the next scene."

Wendy shook her head again. "That's not possible." She handed Grissom the print she had brought with her. Grissom read silently.

"And there was no DNA material from another person," Wendy continued. "I don't think anybody brought it from the first scene to the other scene." She paused. "I think somebody mixed up the evidence of the two cases."

Grissom groaned inwardly, handing the piece of paper back to her.

"Who handled the evidence of those cases? Was it Greg?" he wanted to know.

Wendy frowned upon this immediate idea. Before she could reply anything, a voice called from the entrance of the office. "What leads you to the assumption that it was Sanders? Is he not delivering competent work?"

Grissom shook his head, kicking himself for his words. "He's doing a good job," he assured.

"Why then this assumption that it was him who messed up the evidence?" Ecklie wanted to know, but continued, before Grissom could answer, "Maybe this will help you with your decision," he remarked, ignoring Wendy who was still standing in front of Grissom's desk, her frown getting darker and darker.

Ecklie pointed at Grissom. "I want that it is cleared up who it was." He did not stay any longer, and was walking down the hallway, before Grissom had mustered up any answers. He sighed and looked at Wendy again.

"Can you find out who handled the item the DNA sample was taken from?"

She nodded. "Sure." She turned around and left the office, leaving Grissom to his contemplations again. He had just managed to complicate the situation. Or the situation had complicated itself. Grissom was not so sure about that.

* * *

Wendy made her way from Grissom's office back to the DNA lab, thinking about how she could handle the whole matter. A solution was coming up soon, when she saw Sara walking around the corner.

"Hey," she greeted her quickly.

"Hey," Sara replied politely, stopping next to her.

"Can you look up who handled that piece of evidence please?" Wendy asked, showing Sara the print that showed the results of the DNA comparison, pointing at the index number of the object the DNA sample was from.

"Sure," Sara said. "Can you tell me why?"

"Somebody mixed up the evidence of two cases and Grissom, or rather Ecklie, wants to know who," Wendy said quickly, before she could really consider if it was a good idea to tell Sara all that.

Sara's expression darkened, looking down at the paper in her hand. She left Wendy standing without another word, and the lab tech frowned only briefly before she walked back into the DNA lab.

* * *

Sara had gotten a bad feeling immediately. Something with the evidence of a case was wrong. Somebody had mixed it up with another case, Wendy had said. And Grissom and Ecklie were already all over it. That would be very disadvantageous for the person who had done it, especially in the situation they were currently in.

And Sara had an idea who it was.

She got the evidence boxes of the case, opened them one after the other and searched for the item the DNA sample had been taken from. She found the evidence bag, looked at the label, and was confirmed in her apprehension, for the signature on it read _Sara Sidle._

**TBC**


	4. Decisions

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **This is the chapter in which Sara will perfidiously go and report it was Greg's mistake and get him fired… and it wasn't my idea… Okay, that's not what's going to happen.

Thanks as always for your replies and to _singingstarryknights _for betareading.

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**Chapter 4: Decisions**

Sara sank down in a chair weakly, starring at the evidence bag in her hand. That was it. She could go and clear out her locker now. It was over.

The possibility that this moment would come, the fear of it, had hung over her since she had overheard Ecklie and Grissom talking. But as much as she hated herself for it, she had somehow, in the back of her mind, been convinced that Greg would have to go. She did not want him to go of course, but she had been almost sure that the choice would fall on him; he was still the newbie after all. What had Ecklie said? Last to come, first to go.

But this mistake, her mistake, had changed everything.

She starred at the label again, wondering how this could have happened. She did not have to think about it for long, as the answer was simple: She had mixed up the piece of evidence when she and Nick had quickly packed up the evidence of two different cases when the fire alarm had started. It had only been a fire-drill, but they had not known that back then, so they had made haste, still trying to handle the evidence meticulously.

Sara remembered it clearly: Nick had handed her this very evidence bag because she had almost forgotten it. And she had assumed it belonged to Warrick's case. She had not checked it. The alarm, the people that had been hurrying down the hallway, had made her nervous, and negligent. Under normal circumstances she would have double-checked to make sure that she put the bag into the right box, but she had not done so during the alarm.

That would not help her though. They had to handle the evidence accurately under any circumstances. A trial could crack because of a mistake like the one she had made.

It was too late for regret; she could not change anymore what had happened. Any other time she might have gotten off lightly, but as matters stood, she would have to go. Sara wanted to kick herself. Her only consolation was that Greg's job was saved with this.

She wondered how he would react on the news. He would probably be supportive, he always was. He might even go and try to get her job back, if she did not make him clear that the choice had been between him and her, that one of them would have to go anyway, that there was nothing he could do about it.

And Sara had no idea what she would do, at the very least not, what she would do after she would have cleared out her locker and said goodbye to her colleagues. Her job was her life almost as much as it was Grissom's. It had changed a little since Greg had come more and more into her life, but still everything turned around work.

In the last year she had resettled in her job, had left behind to a large part the trouble she had had with herself, with her life, with emotionally unattainable men. It had not only been about the need to solve a case, the need to silence the trouble of her past anymore, she had actually enjoyed her job, had enjoyed working with her colleagues, most of them she had hardly seen the previous year after Ecklie had split the team.

Now it would be split again. Only this time only she would go, and she would be gone for good.

Sara rose from the chair blankly, still holding the evidence bag in her hand. Determined to at least clean up the rest of her work, she repacked the opened evidence boxes, leaving only the erroneous bag outside.

When she was finished, she made her way slowly to Grissom's office. She would tell him about her mistake, report that she had messed up the evidence.

Then he would tell her about the choice Ecklie had put in front of him. Or maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he would just dismiss her without having to reveal the dilemma Ecklie had put him in. Considering that she had been short from being fired several times before, her mistake alone would be enough. Grissom would not make the choice public and Sara wondered if she should tell anybody, especially Greg, about it at all.

In the hallway she almost ran into Nick, as she had been lost in thought, at the same time looking again at the evidence bag she had taken with her.

"Hey," Nick called, dodging her.

"Sorry," she said quickly, avoiding his gaze, as she thought that she would probably start to cry, if she looked at him.

"What is up, Sara?" he asked carefully.

Glancing at him briefly, before looking into the direction of Grissom's office, she replied, "I have to talk to Grissom. We'll talk later, okay?"

She waited only for Nick's short nod, before she went on. She stopped in front of Grissom's office, sighing, remembering many occasions when she had stood on the same spot, apprehensive of a conversation with Grissom that would promise a fair amount of awkwardness, even if she had not seen it so negative back then. Now it would be the last time.

She knocked on the door of his office, hearing him calling her in immediately. She swallowed, and opened the door, stepping in slowly.

"Grissom," she said simply. He looked up at her.

"Sit down," he offered and she did so. She laid the evidence bag that she had brought with her and the print from the DNA lab on the desk in front of him silently. Grissom looked at the both things, frowning.

Setting up a faint, joyless smile, Sara said, "Well, I think I can start clearing out my locker then."

Grissom only looked at her nearly expressionless.

"Wendy asked me to look up who handled the evidence of that case. It was me. I mixed up stuff from two cases," she continued.

"How did that happen?" Grissom wanted to know, and Sara was glad that she had at least the opportunity to give an account of what had happened. She always considered her work as very accurate, so she wanted at least to explain that she would not have made a mistake like that under normal circumstances.

She told Grissom in a few short sentences what had happened. Then she paused for a few moments, before she continued, "I know about the choice Ecklie has put up."

Grissom frowned surprised.

"So, I guess it's me then." Sara wished that Grissom would finally say something, but he only looked at her. He did not negate her expectation though, and that was enough for Sara. She rose from the chair. "I'll go and clear out my locker then," she announced, swallowing, but wishing to be finally out of this office.

"You want to leave?" she heard a voice coming from the entrance of the room now. Ecklie had definitely the ability to turn up in the most unfortunate moments. Or maybe her accusation of him had been right and he really hung out in the hallway waiting for one of them to screw up. Whatever it was, now he was standing once again in Grissom's office.

"You're free to go, Sidle," he declared. "As I have told Grissom: even two people from the graveyard shift can go."

Sara had a hollow feeling in her stomach. "What do you mean?"

Ecklie looked at her silently for a second, before he answered. "Sanders has just quit." He shrugged. "If you want to leave, too, go ahead."

**TBC**


	5. Motivations

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **This is the last chapter for now, not the last of the story, but the last one until I have finished writing that BA-thesis I have to write, or rather, to finish, as most of it is already written. Anyway, stop talking now, Kegel, and let the people read the chapter.

Thanks for reading and replying and to _singingstarryknights_ for betareading.

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**Chapter 5: Motivations**

Ecklie had indicated it. When he had called Greg into his office over some report that definitely did not interest him in the slightest, shortly before the fire alarm had started, he had given him broad hints. Without actually telling him, Ecklie had made Greg clear that someone would have to go. Greg had figured that he meant either him or Sara. He had not mentioned anything to Sara because he did not want her to worry about something that might turn out to be nothing after all, still hoping that this was the case.

Tonight though, he had seen Ecklie going into Grissom's office. Greg had caught the phrase 'staff cuts' and had made sure to get some work to do, not even wanting to think about what the two men would be talking about.

Some time later he had searched for Sara, as he still had not seen her since they had said goodbye when he left her place in the evening, wanting to head over to his place quickly before he went to work. He had found her in a room near Grissom's office, and she had seemed troubled.

Greg had put two and two together: She had heard of Ecklie's intentions. They both had worked together, then, without mentioning anything of it. Greg did not know any details and still hoped that everything would work out.

Now he walked into the DNA lab to pick up results, but instead of the usual smile that greeted him there, Wendy seemed worried, even if he only noticed it because of the lack of her normal offhandedness.

She handed him a piece of paper that had just come out of the printer, and scanning it, he asked, "What's up?"

She glanced at him, before crouching down to get some petri-dishes out of a low shelf. "Nothing," she replied. She wasn't a better liar than Greg, and he was a horrible one.

She stood up again, looking at him.

"You can tell me," he said earnestly, suspecting that she knew something that was going on in the lab.

"Somebody… messed up evidence," she said slowly. Greg got uneasy.

"I said something to Grissom… and just that moment Ecklie showed up, you know how he is, pops out of nowhere in the worst moments-"

"And what did Grissom say?" Greg interrupted her.

Wendy teetered nervously. "He asked who it was."

Greg looked at her with raised eyebrows. "There's more, isn't it?"

Wendy put down the dishes she still had been holding and raised her hands. "Okay, Greg, I'll tell you, but it's between me and you, okay?"

"Sure," Greg nodded.

"Grissom asked if it was you who handled the messed-up evidence," Wendy started and Greg's expression darkened. "And Ecklie said something about a decision Grissom has to make and how it will help him that somebody messed up…" she trailed off. "Ecklie left then and Grissom told me to look into who handled the evidence."

Greg swallowed. "And who was it?"

"I don't know."

Greg didn't exactly believe her that she did not know anything at all. "I asked Sara to look into it," she continued.

"And…?"

Wendy hesitated, confirming Greg's suspicion that she had at least an idea. "Greg, I think it was Sara. You know, her reaction when she saw the print, she seemed uneasy."

"Doesn't mean anything…" Greg trailed off, not believing himself what he was saying, his thoughts wandering. "Thanks for telling me though."

"You're welcome," Wendy replied doubting. It wasn't exactly something one could be thankful for hearing.

Greg left the DNA lab, the print with the results of the test he had wanted to get still in his hands. He walked back into Wendy's workplace, putting the paper on a table.

"I don't need that right now," he explained to a wondering Wendy briefly, before he left again.

* * *

His decision had only been confirmed. 

He made his way into Ecklie's office nervously, but determined.

Ecklie looked somewhat surprised to see him. "Sanders."

"I've heard you want to cut down staff," Greg started directly.

"How is that your business?" Ecklie scoffed.

"I simply want to know, if you're going to fire somebody," Greg replied calmly. Letting himself being provoked would not help. But maybe, it did not really matter anymore. With the plan he had in mind, the decision he had made, it did not matter whether he remained calm or would start blowing up on Ecklie, Sara-like.

"As you're asking so directly: The staff of the graveyard shift is disproportionate. Someone has to go. And it will be either you or Sidle," Ecklie told him relentlessly. "It's Grissom's decision though."

Greg's apprehensions had been confirmed. "Well, I quit then," he said decidedly.

Ecklie looked as if Greg had punched him. "What did you say?"

"I quit," Greg repeated. "Grissom doesn't have to decide. I'll leave by myself."

Ecklie seemed to recover from the surprise, but still appeared to be a little caught-off-guard. "You'll sort out the details with Grissom, he's your supervisor."

Greg nodded gravely. That was it. He had done it.

He left Ecklie's office, having no intention to go to Grissom directly. He wandered down the hallway, taking in the strange feeling that this was not his workplace anymore from now on.

However his relationship with Sara would continue, they would not be colleagues anymore. Greg almost laughed despite the situation at the thought that at least nobody could say something about the problems of dating a co-worker any longer. Apart from the possibility that people might see him as a victim of the dangers of being in an interoffice relationship. If Ecklie ever made public the choice he had put in front of Grissom, people would assume Greg had quit for Sara's sake. And that was not even the case for that matter.

He was quite sure that it was Sara who had made the mistake with the evidence. Sara's reaction, when Wendy told her about it, almost proved it for him. He knew that mistake would make it likelier that Sara would be the one who would be dismissed, no matter how much Grissom would try to avoid that. Actually, Greg hoped that now, after he had quit, Sara would not be fired as well, over her mistake. He could not preclude that, however, knowing Ecklie.

But while all that had confirmed him in his decision, it had not been the reason, however people would see it.

Greg walked into the locker room, figuring that he could start clearing out his locker. He had just opened it, without having even the chance of taking anything out of it, when he heard hurried footsteps coming along the hallway and mere seconds later Sara rushed into the room.

"You quit?" she asked unbelieving.

"Yeah."

Sara seemed to search for words. "Why?" she finally wanted to know. When Greg did not answer immediately, she continued, "You didn't quit for my sake, did you?"

"So you know about the choice?" It was more a statement than a question.

"Don't tell me you quit for me." Sara's voice had grown louder; she was obviously almost angry at that thought.

Greg looked nervously into the hallway, hoping that nobody heard them. "Can we please take this somewhere else?" he pleaded.

"No, we can't," Sara replied heatedly. "I can't believe you did something so stupid."

"Thanks a lot," Greg said sarcastically. "And just for record: I didn't quit for you." This denial only seemed to fuel Sara's anger more.

"I thought your job, what you've worked for, was worth more to you."

Greg slammed his locker shut. He could have thrown back a comment in the same tone like Sara's, but he was already tired of it.

"I have to talk to Grissom," he said simply. Sara stood silently, arms crossed, but now looking at the floor. Greg brushed past her, but she grabbed his arm. He turned around to face her and she looked at him, before hugging him.

"We'll work it out somehow," she assured him, rubbing his back lightly. It wasn't a real apology, but Greg knew that it was all he could expect from her for now, and it uplifted him that she wanted to work it out together with him. They would work it out. Right after she would have ripped off his head for the real reason he quit.

She let go of him and he tossed one last smile at her before he vanished down the hallway, leaving Sara to sink herself onto the bench behind her, knowing all too well that she had concealed an essential detail from Greg.

* * *

When Greg returned twenty minutes later, he found, to his surprise, Sara still sitting in the same position. 

"Hey," he called her from the entrance of the room. Sara looked over to him and he noticed that the only thing that had changed was that she had now her jacket wrapped around her.

"I waited for you," she answered his unasked question.

"I'll head home now." Greg came over to her.

"Me too." She stood up slowly.

"You're still on shift, aren't you?" Greg wondered and Sara shook her head.

"Let's just say, I have plenty of time on my hands right now."

Greg remembered the messed up evidence and guessed that Sara had been suspended for at least a couple of days for it.

"My place or yours?" he asked smiling, assuring himself that they would work everything out, somehow.

"Yours."

**TBC**


	6. Comfort

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **Yeah, here I am again. A chapter before I go out of town for the weekend. As always thanks for reading and replying and to _singingstarryknights_ for betareading.

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**Chapter 6: Comfort**

Greg laughed softly. "A great day after all." He pressed a kiss to Sara's hair. He closed his eyes and drew the blanket a little more over the both of them, enjoying their closeness. His breathing became calm and the only other sound he heard was Sara breathing next to him.

He enjoyed this comfort they were having now, opting to not worry about work-related matters right now, unwilling to feel concerned about his future, their future, for the moment. They had not talked about his quitting since they had left the lab earlier this morning. Sara had seemed as if she wanted to bring up the topic again, but was apparently at a loss as to how to start that conversation. Greg was only too ready to let it go for a couple of hours.

Now they were lying in the bed in Greg's bedroom, while the sun was already standing high on the sky outside, sending a warm shine through the large window of the room, which made the blanket that they had drawn over them not really necessary, but the idea to go without this comfort did not even occur to the couple.

They would sleep in, that was clear, Greg thought. If work had gone its normal way, they would be sleeping now anyway, or working for that matter, if they had pulled a double, so neither of them had any other plans. Greg liked their current activity to no end, so he was not opposed to staying as they were for longer at all.

He stroked Sara's hair, sighing happily, in a way trying to get closer to her still, if that was even possible. He rubbed her back lightly, but then he felt her tense in his arms. Finally Sara drew back a little and Greg opened his eyes confused, meeting Sara's worried look.

"What's up? Is something wrong?" he asked quietly. Sara drew back further, sitting up slightly, resting herself on one arm.

"I can't pretend that everything's fine."

Greg frowned, wondering what the problem was, but her expression made his stomach tie in apprehensive knots.

"Everything is fine," he protested. "We're here, we're together. It's comfortable and all." He made a move to hug her again. "Don't think about work right now. Let it go for a while."

Sara shook her head, turning away from him, sitting up completely this time, looking at the foot-end of the bed. "I can't."

Greg felt a little lost at the sudden loss of contact. "Hey, it's me who doesn't have a job anymore, so if somebody is worried, it shouldn't be you," he said lightly.

Sara let her legs slide over her side of the bed. "No," she said, standing up, "it should've been me." She turned to face him again. "They should've fired me or I should've quit, not you," she declared and Greg was lost. He had no idea why she would say something like that, why she would want that. She loved her job. While he had not quit for her sake, he still had had the comforting knowledge with all of it that it had saved her job.

"Why?" was therefore the only reaction he was able to come up with.

"It was my mistake", Sara replied in a strained voice. "They would've fired me, if you hadn't quit."

Greg had moved over to her side in the meantime, shaking his head now. "I'm not so sure about that. I am, was, the newbie, and they wouldn't fire you over such a small mistake."

Okay, he was not completely sure about that, he was almost positive that Ecklie would use any chance to get rid of Sara. While he did not really know any details, he knew that neither of them had ever really gotten along well with the other. Ecklie had not cared especially for Greg becoming a CSI either, but at least he had appreciated his work in the DNA lab, even if that had led to the situation that Greg had to accept working there again after Mia had left and before Wendy had replaced her.

"It wasn't so small. Trials could crack because of something like that," Sara argued now, "And you knew about it?" she added suddenly.

Greg ignored her last question. "But these kinds of things happen. Evidence gets contaminated, cars get stolen, labs explode," he itemized, wincing slightly at his last example. "People make mistakes. They aren't perfect," he told her beseechingly. He added smiling at her, "Even if they want to be."

Sara was standing there, all defensive, looking at the floor.

"You wouldn't have been fired over that. Somebody had to go, so it was me," he said a little falsely cheerfully, trying to cheer Sara up, even if he did not take it as easy as he pretended. He slid from the bed as well, and embraced her again.

"Don't take it harder than I do," he asked her. "Come into bed again, please," he added, yawning tiredly for emphasis.

She laid her hands on his shoulders shoving him comparatively gently some inches away from her, so that she could look him into the eyes. "You knew about my mistake. How come?" she wanted to know, frowning slightly at him.

Greg shrugged. "Wendy told me about it." Actually the lab tech had told him to keep it between the two of them but Greg could not risk trying to conceal it from Sara. It would have far worse consequences than the fact that he had not really kept the promise he had given Wendy.

Sara did not look too happy about his answer, however. She let her arms drop from his shoulders and crossed them again. "I didn't know that you're so good buddies that you're gossiping about things like that," she declared fiercely and Greg groaned inwardly. Sara could make it really difficult for him sometimes.

"We're co-workers, we get along with each other, so what's the problem? I went into the DNA lab. Wendy seemed to have something on her mind. I asked her about it, end of story."

He looked at her with a begging expression that he knew worked most of the time. He stroked her hair again, smiling at her playfully. Sara remained standing stiffly in front of him, looking past him. Finally she looked up at him again, and Greg wondered, utterly surprised, why there were tears actually forming in her eyes.

"So you lied to me?" she asked bitterly. Actually it was not really a question. It sounded more like a statement, how she said it.

Greg dropped his arms, and sank weakly on the bed behind him. He hadn't the slightest idea as to what she was talking about now. He was getting frustrated, slowly but surely.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to remain patient, but watching upset how the tears were rolling down Sara's cheeks now. She wiped them off with her hand.

"You told me you didn't quit for my sake, but you've just admitted that you knew about everything, so you did quit for me, didn't you?"

Greg shook his head unbelieving. "Even if I had, shouldn't you be thankful then, that you still have your job?" he said, now getting slightly angry, standing up from the bed again.

"You know how I hate it when gu-, people lie to me," she retorted.

"Did I ever lie to you?" Greg asked openly, trying to calm down again. Sara once again wiped off the tears that had not stopped yet.

"You did today," she answered him spiritlessly. Greg remained silent for a few seconds.

"I didn't," he said finally. "I knew about the mistake, I knew that Ecklie wanted somebody to go, but I didn't quit for you," he assured her earnestly, hoping that it would be enough to convince her, enough to calm her down. Despite the situation Greg could hardly suppress chuckling. After all, he was in the midst of trying to convince his girlfriend that he had not done something for her sake.

He sat down again and Sara walked slowly over to him, seating herself next to him on the bed.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked after some seconds. Greg was relieved that she apparently believed him, being surprised, though, that she had not asked for his actual reasoning so far. Not that he needed, or wanted, that right now. That quarrel would come early enough.

"Get a new job," he said simply, laying an arm around her.

"But you can't work as a CSI here, if not in our lab," Sara argued, this time leaning into his embrace.

"Well, I guess I'll find a lab that needs a DNA tech."

"That's not what you've worked for."

"Or find a CSI position somewhere else." Greg knew that it possible meant them living a large distance away from each other. Sara rested her head on his shoulder, and he was glad that they had returned to the comfort that he really needed now.

"But-," she started.

Greg cut her off though. "Wasn't it you who said only a few hours ago we'd work it out?"

"Yeah," she admitted quietly.

Before long they were both cuddled up again under their blanket, only too willing to get some more rest. Although he had intended to not worry for now, Greg could not help thinking about what Sara had said. Getting a bad feeling, he wanted to make sure that she would not do something stupid, like quit as well, but he was unwilling to bring up the topic again, fearing another fight. So he remained silent, enjoying the closeness he had been able to save.

Some minutes later both of them were sleeping again, Sara lying in Greg's arms again, and the only sounds were them both breathing calmly next to each other.

**TBC**


	7. Tendencies

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **Thanks for reading and replying and to _singingstarryknights_ for betareading.

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Chapter 7: Tendencies**

Sara woke up, Greg still sleeping beside her, with one arm around her waist. She freed herself gently from it, sitting up. She looked out of the window, then at her sleeping boyfriend next to her, thinking about everything that had happened the previous night and morning.

"_You want to leave?" _she could still hear Ecklie's voice in her head.

"_You're free to go, Sidle. As I have told Grissom: even two people from the graveyard shift can go."_

"_What do you mean?" _

She could still hear his words as if it had been just mere minutes ago.

"_Sanders has just quit. If you want to leave, too, go ahead."_

She had been tempted to do so. At that point she had anyway accepted the thought that she would have to go… and then Ecklie had told her that Greg had quit. She had been tempted to just throw a sarcastic comment into Ecklie's face and clean out her locker.

Now, however, she realized that it would have been incredibly stupid. And it would not even have helped Greg. She wouldn't be able to support him, to work it out with him, if she had been in the same situation, in the same trouble as he was.

It had actually been Grissom who had held her back from giving in to her temptation.

"_If you want to leave, too, go ahead."_

_Sara had starred at Ecklie, but before she had been able to answer something, Grissom had called her name from behind. She had turned around to him, a deep frown on her face._

"_You know that these kinds of mistakes mustn't happen," he had said, holding up the erroneous bag of evidence she had brought with her earlier. "It is necessary for the reputation of the lab that everybody handles the evidence with the outmost care."_

_Sara's eyes had flickered, unbelieving that Grissom was actually giving her that speech. _

She realized now that Grissom had wanted to take the wind out of Ecklie's sails.

_Back then her stomach had tightened, wondering what Grissom would do. He could not fire her… no, she would not let that happen, she would rather go by herself, making true what she had almost done only a minute ago._

"_You're suspended for three days," Grissom had continued though._

_She had held his gaze for a moment longer before she had simply said, "Okay," and had turned to leave the office. She had walked past Ecklie, who had seemed almost amused and had followed her out of the room. Before she had had the opportunity to walk away, he had called her name and she had turned around to him, taking a deep breath._

"_The offer still stands, Sara," he had declared, before he had walked off into the other direction, and Sara had gone to search for Greg, finally finding him in the locker room._

Now she took in his peaceful, sleeping form. She still didn't know why he had actually quit. She had not really asked him so far. She had assumed right from the start, when Ecklie had told her about it, that Greg had quit for her sake. When she had asked him about it, he had denied it. She had believed him at first, but had suspected more and more that he had lied. She could not imagine another reason, after all.

On the one hand, it would have been sweet of him to do so of course, but beyond stupid. He had apparently realized that himself, therefore claiming another motive. Or at least that was what Sara had suspected.

She turned to look at the digital watch on Greg's side of the bed, noticing that she had already been awake for twenty minutes, and Greg was still sleeping. She smiled at him and bent down to press a soft kiss on his forehead, but when she did so, he smiled as well, although he had his eyes still closed, she knew he was awake. She kissed him on his lips and he laid his arms around her back, finally opening his eyes and grinning at her.

"The day couldn't start better."

"Agreed. But it's already afternoon, sleepyhead."

"Mmh, as far as I can see, you're still in bed as well, my love," he replied grinning even wider.

"Then let's get up and look to see if we can find something here that counts as food."

"Hey, I'm not that bad."

"And then we're going to have a serious talk."

"About what?" Greg asked, still grinning, and Sara wondered if he thought she was joking about something or if he was only pretending. She frowned at him and Greg seemed to realize that she was serious.

"Greg, I don't want us to fight, but I really want to know-,"

Greg cut her off. "Okay, let's find something to eat and then we can talk."

Sara nodded. Greg stood up, she doing the same, noticing that his earlier cheerfulness seemed gone, replaced by… anxiety? She frowned again, searching for her shirt that had landed somewhere on the floor in the morning. Greg was appeared to be dreading their conversation, making her wonder why. She found the clothes she had been searching for, and picking them up, she listened as Greg walked out of the room.

She wondered why he would dread telling her about his reasons, if he had not lied to her about quitting for her sake. Maybe he had after all, and was now pondering to make up something else he could feed her with.

Sara bit her lower lip. He was a horrible liar. She was a CSI. Did he really think she would buy whatever lie he would tell her? Not that her CSI skills had helped when guys had lied to her, cheated on her, in the past, she thought bitterly.

But she did not understand why Greg hadn't simply admitted that he had quit to save her job. Maybe he was right, and they really would not have fired her despite the messed up evidence. But still he had done it for her.

It was stupid, yes, but it was sweet, too, somehow. Sweet in the way Greg would do kind or thoughtful things for her, even if they were stupid. So she really could not grasp why he had not come clean. He could not really expect her to be angry because of that. Lying to her was far worse.

Sara rubbed her eyes. Maybe she jumped to conclusions too quickly. But what else could he have to hide that he would resort to lying to her?

She made her way to the bathroom, while Greg was already rummaging around in the kitchen, trying to calm herself. When she was finished, she sat down at the kitchen table, and Greg handed her a cup of coffee. He smiled at her, but the apprehension was still notable in his features.

He sat down as well, his own cup in his hands. She looked over the collection of food he had put on the table earlier, but her appetite was gone.

"Sara, I'm sorry," Greg started finally, and Sara tensed even more. There he would go and admit that he had lied to her. She knew it. She looked at him with an expression that she knew made a flight instinct come over many people.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier." He looked at her beseechingly. "Sar, I don't want us to fight."

Sara did not say anything, wishing that he would finally come to the point, finally tell her the truth.

"I know you'll be disappointed," Greg continued, and Sara took a deep breath, trying to avoid starting to cry. Greg was now looking at the table in front of him, avoiding her gaze.

"Ever… ever since the team got back together… you know… I've been working stuff that is time-consuming but, well, not really important to the cases. I know, I'm only a CSI 1, but I felt shut out from the cases. I don't really learn anything new anymore; it's not like when I was always teamed up with you."

He looked at her again. "When I heard that one of us has to go, I thought it's better to leave by myself. You know, starting somewhere new, where I'm the newbie, too, but not… the former lab tech… I heard about you… Grissom wouldn't have fired you because of it, I think, but I thought before Ecklie gets any ideas and tries just that, I better go ahead and quit."

He looked at her expectantly and Sara starred at him, before she looked down at her cup of coffee, her expression finally breaking into a smile.

"Greg," she called, her voice rising.

"Yeah." He sounded hopeful at her smiling.

"You are so nuts," she exclaimed, looking up at him. "I thought you'd lied to me."

"I told you I didn't."

Sara shook her head. She could understand his reasons for quitting, she really could. Right now she was just taking in the news. He could have told her earlier though, it hurt that he had not; she couldn't deny herself that.

"So you're not disappointed?" Greg asked now.

"I am disappointed that you didn't tell me earlier that you were dissatisfied at work, but not for your reasons to quit," she stated truthfully and added thoughtfully, "Maybe I should leave, too."

"Don't you dare."

"Ecklie said the offer still stood."

"Don't give him the satisfaction of being completely successful with his staff-cutting plans," Greg said, winking at her, and she smiled back at him. She finally chose something from the food in front of her and took a large bite.

"I'm glad you're not mad," Greg said. "I thought I'd never get to make you wet again, if you threw me out." He grinned at her now.

"Don't you dare to do that again, or you'll be mincemeat," Sara threatened jokingly.

"Sara, what would you want with mincemeat? You're a vegetarian as far as I know."

"Greg, that was lame." Nevertheless she could not suppress a wide smile at his behavior. She never could.

"Maybe." He shrugged, still grinning.

That was the moment his cell-phone rang. He picked it up before it had the chance to ring a second time.

"Sanders." He listened to the person on the other side, and Sara watched his expression, taking another sip from her coffee.

"That's great," Greg was saying now. He sounded as if he really meant it, but Sara noticed that the cheerfulness did not really reach his expression.

"I'll be there," was the last thing Greg said, before he put down the phone, and looked at his girlfriend again.

"It was Grissom," he started. "He's made some calls and my job problem seems to be solved."

That was definitely fast, Sara thought, but wished Greg would finally stop with the annoying habit he had developed as a lab tech, to deliver details in tiny quantities.

"I can start as soon as possible at the San Francisco Crime Lab."

The first thing Sara thought of, the first thing she calculated, was the distance, and she did not like the result.

**TBC **


	8. Efforts

**Disclaimer:** _broken recordish:_ I don't own them.

**A/N: **Well, I haven't updated this story in a while… was busy with other stories… yeah :D, but here comes finally the last chapter of this one, so this is the end of this story… for now.

Thanks to _singingstarryknights _for betareading. :D

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Chapter 8: Efforts**

Sara had not said anything since Greg's announcement. She had risen from her chair and started to tidy up what they had used for breakfast, or whatever you wanted to call their meal in the afternoon. Greg was getting worried now, thanks to the silence. She had her back to him while she was storing away unused dishes. She closed the door of the cupboard and he dared to speak.

"Sara," he started, but she walked away, avoiding looking at him. He sighed, following her after a minute and found her piling her stuff together, obviously preparing to leave.

"Sara, please don't go."

She stuffed the last thing in her bag and Greg noticed that she was even able to zip up the zipper of the bag in an angry way.

"Look who's talking," she said bitterly, and somehow Greg was even relieved that she had finally broken her silence. He could handle any situation way better when she was at least talking with him. As long as he got her to stay long enough to talk, as she was already on her way to the front door.

"Don't make it harder for me than it already is," he pleaded, following her. She stopped dead in front of the door, leaving her head hanging. Greg was taken aback.

Sara opened the door, stepped outside and was already closing it behind her, when Greg called after her. The sound of the door being shut was followed by a frustrated groan from Greg.

His job problems had been solved quickly, only to be replaced by trouble with Sara he did not know how to work out. He could understand her feelings; it was not easy. But it was not easy for him either. He would leave not only her, but also his friends behind. Still, he could be thankful for the solution Grissom had offered him. Greg would only have to come by the lab for the next shift to clear the details with Grissom. He was afraid it would not be as easy as that with Sara. And in a way it was unfair of her. She had told him they would work it out together. Maybe she had not reckoned that his job problem would be solved so quickly, and that without that she had been able to do anything. And of course she had hoped that it would not take him so far away, although Greg thought that they were still comparatively lucky. It could have been further away, after all.

* * *

He had not seen her for the rest of the day. When Greg entered the lab shortly before midnight, he was still wondering where she had gone. And what she would do. And how they would be able to deal with everything. 

He saw her coming out of Grissom's office and their gazes met. Her expression was unreadable though and she turned to walk down the corridor, away from him. He looked after her briefly, before he shook his head and walked through the door she had left open into the office of his boss, former boss that is. He would have to deal with Sara later.

Now he would have to finalize the move that would possibly tear them apart, no matter how often Sara had said that they would work it out together. It was not that he had another choice, if he wanted to work in the job he loved. He could not refuse the opportunity Grissom offered him. And still he hoped that this was not the choice between work and Sara, disguised as a simple career decision. He hoped that such a choice would not be necessary.

* * *

When Sara had made her way to Grissom's office, she had not really been sure what she actually wanted there. Thank him for the opportunity he was giving Greg? Yell at him because of the opportunity he was giving Greg that would make him move hundreds of miles away? Quit? Ask him if there was another job vacant at the SF crime lab that he knew of? 

She walked into his office and he looked up to her, an asking expression on his face. After all, she should not be here, having been suspended for three days. Sara did not waste any time on explanations, but decided what she would do, why she was actually here.

"I want to take some days off. After the suspension that is." Considering the amount of overtime she had saved up it was not really something he could refuse to give her.

So Grissom nodded simply, frowning slightly. It was not something he would have ever expected to hear from her. Sara smiled briefly before leaving the room. And after all of that, she would go back to work. That was what she always did, anyway.

She saw Greg coming along the hallway when she walked out of Grissom's office. She met his gaze, turning away to leave, however. She heard him closing the door of his former boss' office behind him.

Sara made her way home, to her own place, but only to pick up some things. It was only two hours after she had left the lab that she stopped in front of Greg's apartment door. She rang and he opened it, looking surprised, pleasantly surprised.

"Can I come in?" she asked simply.

"Sure."

She sat down on his couch, looking at him. "You'll go to Frisco?"

"Yeah." It was straightforward how he said it, but she could see the anxiety in his expression.

"We should try it, Sara. It doesn't have to break us up," he contended hopefully. "I mean, you will have your space, I won't crowd you that way. Isn't that what you want?"

Maybe it was what she wanted. Or what she had wanted. Or what she had thought she wanted. But now that it was there, she didn't like it. She wanted to keep her independence of course, didn't want to have to cater everything to the needs of a boyfriend. But what she wanted was to be with him, to wake up with him in the morning, or in the afternoon in their case, fall asleep with him after a long day, wanted to talk to him, hear his jokes every day, live with him.

But they had no other choice than to do all that in a limited amount of time now, whenever they would be able to see each other. But she knew that she wanted to try it, too. She did not want to give up on their relationship, their love, so easily.

"We can try it, Greg," she agreed with him, smiling encouragingly and he hugged her rejoicing.

* * *

Sara walked along the street, getting a look at a tiny part of the city she had lived in for years. It had been several years ago that she had left, and now she was only back for visiting. She realized that she had already reached the apartment complex that was her destination and that had been the starting point for her walk as well. 

Not much later she was standing in front of the door of a flat, ringing although she had a key. She could have let herself in, but somehow it seemed impolite. It was not her place after all and considering that Greg was new here as well, he would probably appreciate it, if she did not fall into the house. It took only a moment before he opened the door and let her in, smiling.

"All sorted out at work?" she asked him. Greg had only gone in for a couple of hours today to clear all formalities; his real first day would be tomorrow.

"Yeah," he nodded, taking her into his arms and pulling her with him down on the couch that appeared almost strange in the new surroundings. In Sara's mind it somehow still belonged in Greg's old flat in Las Vegas.

"And you'll stay until the day after tomorrow?" He wanted to know, giving her no opportunity to answer directly though, as he pressed his lips onto hers. Some minutes later Sara finally sat up on the couch, leaning at the backrest.

"Yeah, I'll leave then in the early morning to be back for my shift at night."

Greg would be working dayshift here, so she would stay for the night after his first day. "I miss you already."

Sara shook her head. "Don't. I'll visit you again soon and we can talk on the phone."

And that was what Sara really intended to do. It had at least an advantage now that she had saved up so much vacation time. Now she would actually take it and come over to Greg as often as possible.

"And maybe, one day, when Ecklie's getting too much on my nerves in Vegas, I'll move in here with you," she added. In a way she was joking. But not completely. Going back to San Francisco was still an option, especially if she found a job at the crime lab there. One never knew.

"Or I come back to Vegas, after somebody has kicked out the current lab director, and decided that graveyard needs some more people after all," Greg suggested, leaning back next to Sara. They didn't know if any of these options would become true any time soon, but they were there, and for now Greg and Sara would go on, despite the distance, with the intention of staying close in their relationship nevertheless.

**The End**


End file.
